New Beginnings: Stories from Beauville

Chapter 8-3

The girls are waiting for us at the Event Pics studio.

“Look at you,” Chanty calls out before walking over and pulling me into a hug.

“Hey, sis,” I sigh into her arms and allow myself to soak up our twin power.

“Come here, you.” Anna tugs on my waist and hugs me gently from behind. I really missed my family. I peer over Chanty’s shoulder and notice Lyric standing against the wall with her arms crossed. I wasn’t expecting to see my ex.

“What are you doing here?” I dated her briefly. It wasn’t serious, but for her it was. When we split, I tried to remain friends, but she couldn’t handle it.

Lyric pushes off the wall and takes quick steps to greet me. She stops right in front of me, searching my face. I’m not sure what she’s looking for. “Indy,” she whispers painfully. Her eyes are glossy with unshed tears. “There was no way I was staying put after I heard what happened. I want to be here for you however you need me to be.”

“Thanks, Lyric, that means a lot.”

And it really does.

“Enough of with the meet and greet. We are here to talk about my cheating a*s, lying sack of s**t, no moral sense having, soon-to-be ex-husband, Bear.”

“Here, here,” Chanty chants.

I walk over to my desk and set my things down on the table and pull my suitcase into the corner. “Tell me exactly what happened, and who is this b***h? She can’t be from Beauville.”

“Oh, this b***h was born and bred in Beauville, and it’s that trashy-a*s tramp Viola,” Lola shares.

Oh Lord.

Viola. Why would Bear even mess with her? Is he stupid? He has to be. Every man and their damn dog had a go with Viola. And Bear and Viola were an item in high school before Lola hooked up with him.

“Did she not get the f*****g memo when Bear and I got married? You know ‘til death do us part.”

“Right,” Chanty says, egging the situation on further. “What gives her the right?”

“How about Bear? He’s at fault as well,” Anna says.

“Damn straight,” I piggyback off what Anna says. I unbutton my jacket and plop into my chair.

“You want something to drink, babe?” Lyric asks, walking over to the coffeepot.

“No thanks. Had breakfast at the hotel.”

Lyric doesn’t say another word, but I can see the question in her eyes. She wants to know if I’m okay. I smile and give her a slight nod.

“What are we going to do about Bear and Viola?”

Lola starts pacing. “First, we’re going on a b***h hunt. I want all the dirt on this w***e. Who she’s f*****g, how often, and what number Bear pulled in the fuckfest rotation.”

“Lo, we know everything about Viola already,” Chantelle points out.

“Then someone make her a s**t pie!” Lola screams. Her face is a bright red as she yells, and I swear I see veins popping out on the side of her neck and forehead. She’s livid. But who wouldn’t be?

“Wait, let’s think about this, Lo. You need to decide if this is what you want,” Anna says in a calm tone.

“I agree with Anna. Remember how Jackson went through hell?”

“It was a tough road for both of us,” Anna shares. “It’s hard to forget, and it’s even harder to forgive. We were split up, but if he had any consideration for my feelings and likewise, we’d have saved a lot of time and communicated better. I’m not saying you should forgive Bear, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t. You two are married and have been for a while. What I am saying is let’s make sure that this is what you really want, forget about what we think. But what do you think?”

“You’re right. You and Jackson weren’t married. This is different.”

“I’m with you no matter what you decide, but it needs to be your decision. Marriage is sacred. There are going to be smooth moments and rough patches. But I’ll be the first to admit trust is a delicate thing and once broken, it’s not easily repaired.”

“Can we at least confront the b***h?” Lola asks.

“We can’t let them get away with this shit.” Chanty’s upset, and my twin is the queen of revenge.

“How about we place advertisements around town that have her face on it and label her a ho wrecker,” Lyric suggests.

“You mean home-wrecker,” I correct.

“No, ho wrecker, she’s a ho and she wrecks shit.”

Anna and I both laugh at the same time.

“I like it. I want to get a billboard right in the middle of town on Main Street, across from the courthouse, and flyers we can hand out. We can hire some people to pass them out. Even hand them out during Sunday service.”

“We can have the Women’s Garden Club hand them out. They can’t stand Viola,” Chanty shares.

With a plan in place, everyone gets to work on outing Viola and Bear. It’s a temporary distraction for me. But sometimes that’s all a person needs in order to make it to the next day.